Young and Old

the young constantly yearn
for more years on their age
they believe it’s the answer
being older all the rage
full of hope and anticipation
age and wisdom their goal
not knowing their success
will extract a tough toll
sliding hard into old age
goals quick as lightning reverse
more years no longer craved
desires for youth now emerge
seeking energy and innocence
from the fountain of youth
getting old is not the answer
and that is the truth

——

Linked to Linda Kruschke’s Juxtaposition Paint Chip Prompt.

JUXTAPOSITION (jux’-tuh-puh-zih’-shun; French, “placed close by”) The placement of contrasting things (such as different images) side by side. The effect can be startling, amusing, or illuminating. Sometimes a metaphorical connection is implicit, as in the last line of Guillaume Apollinaire’s “Zone,” which juxtaposes images of the sun and a throat that has been slit: “Soleil cou coupé.” In section fifteen of “Song of Myself,” Walt Whitman juxtaposes images of different people in adjacent lines...

— Definition from the poetry dictionary by John Drury.

THE CHALLENGE: This week I’m only giving you six paint chips to work with. If you’d like, you can juxtapose each of these pairs. Or you could mix them up. Or maybe you want to pick your favorites and juxtapose them with ideas from your own imagination. The words and phrases you have to work with, listed as I’ve paired them, are bougainvillea and fountain of youth, blue ribbon and panther, and lightning and lighthouse. You only need to use two, but extra bonus points if you use them all.

See more Paint Chip Poetry.